Capítulo 16: Dead Capital
After gathering supplies for the mission, Tip stationed himself atop the school roof, scouting out the area. His voice rang through the ears of those roaming the streets, in search of remaining Warbeasts.
[Warbeast spotted: 39 meters east from location]
The announcement reached Chance who had already entered the city streets, and he started heading to the Warbeast. Cautious, Chance remained aware of his surroundings, the unpredictable nature of the beasts proving to be an ever-looming threat.
"Can I get an identification on the Warbeast before I get too close to this thing?"
[Identify: Eastern Jumper. Sex: Male]
Chance turned the corner, catching sight of the jumper as it stood there, looking around as if confused. Chance approached slowly but still caught its attention.
'The Eastern Jumper stands at around 10-feet tall with a very muscular physique, contrary to females of the same species. Although they are a lot slower than females, their power is devastating and could easily shatter my protective barrier.'
Chance second-guessed approaching any further, but the Jumper approached him instead, appearing in an instant before him. It continued to silently loom over him, observing him thoroughly as Chance observed it.
Frightened, Chance mustered the courage to reach for his earpiece, calling in the attention of those also searching on the ground with him.
"T-There's something wrong here."
Dola approached behind Chance as he continued to speak, her eyes daring the Warbeast to attack, but it made no attempt, continuing to inspect Chance's form.
"He--he's not hostile toward me..."
The Jumper inspected Chance but maintained a distance. It made a low, clicking sound that rang through the ears of Chance and Dola, vibrating their eardrums and disorienting them through their invisible barrier.
As Chance's guard tightened, Dola reassured him, patting him on the shoulder.
"It's alerting its companions."
Dola stood as they appeared instantaneously in front of Chance. Seven Jumpers stood in front of the both of them, clicking amongst themselves as the two of them stood there silently. They tried their best not to trigger the Warbeasts and, instead, maintained a safe distance from them.
...
"Wow! They're even cooler in person! But why did they attack earlier?"
The Jumpers dodged Kem's advancements but remained docile toward him, leaning their heads closer to Kem and inspecting him thoroughly.
"Maybe something forced them to be hostile before. Jumpers are probably the most docile Warbeasts in eastern district."
They all surrounded Kem now, and his arms shook with excitement, catching their attention.
"I want to keep them!"
The Warbeasts made contact with Kem's skin, gently rubbing against it. Chance's tension eased a bit, giving him a bit more confidence in his trek forward.
"You've always liked Warbeasts, huh?"
"Hell yeah!"
Kem continued to play with the Warbeasts as Nifla walked toward the crowd. Her presence seemed to irritate the Warbeasts, chirping and clicking more toward Nifla.
"What's happening?"
Dola backed away, and Nifla stayed silent for a while until finally chirping back at the Jumpers. Kem jumped in excitement as they stood around Nifla, the clicking she made nearly identical to that of the Jumpers themselves.
"Woah! I didn't know you could talk to these things Nifla!"
Kem's jittering intensified. Chance walked a little closer to Nifla but maintained distance from the Warbeasts, and Kem continued to inspect one of the male Jumpers while the others encircled Nifla.
As Kem was jumping up and down repeatedly, Dola spoke with her powerful voice.
"It's probably because they have similar abilities."
"I don't think that's how it works. Just because they both can teleport, doesn't make her capable of talking to animals."
They stopped chirping and disappeared as fast as they'd appeared. Kem shot toward Nifla.
"So, what'd they say?!"
Nifla was silent for a bit, and Bo walked toward them while Tip remained on the roof, keeping surveillance.
"They said they don't remember attacking anyone and that they'd woken up in the middle of the streets without anyone around."
Dola looked extremely confused by what Nifla said and sat on a bench nearby.
"Then how do we explain what they did then? We're not getting anywhere with this."
Chance approached Nifla.
"Did you ask them anything else?"
"Yes. About the people."
"I'm guessing since they aren't coming back that it's not a very happy answer."
Nifla nodded, and Bo walked closer to Nifla, bat in hand.
"We need to go. The mission has a very tight time restraint."
"Right."
Nifla and Bo left while the others continued their investigation. The Social School had been completely deserted. Not even a sign that anyone had been there to begin with remained, and the city… The only remaining evidence that people were there was trash that flew about the streets, carried by the wind. Cars stood in the middle of the roads, some open and some closed.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder